


Keeping Up Appearances

by ArkaneAssassin



Series: Moments of a Life [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Post-Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-03-09 13:24:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13482384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArkaneAssassin/pseuds/ArkaneAssassin
Summary: Long days at the Auror Office can be tiresome and tedious. Even more so when your wife turns up to laugh at your expense.





	Keeping Up Appearances

**_Ministry of Magic, 2017_ **

****

When he’d first joined the Aurors Harry had expected a lot of chasing down suspects, saving lives, and all sorts of general hero stuff and it was true, there had been a lot of that. Now though however he increasingly found himself more trying to stay afloat amongst a mountain of paperwork along with the occasional hero work but today it had been nothing but the former, report after report, log after log. Seems being a “Senior Auror” wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Groaning he leant back in his chair and rubbed his eyes hoping that the day would soon end. Instead what he got was a knock on the wall of his bay (one of the “perks” apparently).

 

“Harry you got a minute.”

 

Harry looked up to see a rather tired and irritated Susan Bones, one of his other senior colleagues and former yearmate from Hogwarts, “what is it Susan?”

 

“One of my lot is interviewing one of the witnesses to that incident from Diagon earlier. It seems they’re refusing to talk to anyone but you.”

 

 _Terrific_ he thought. It was hardly an interesting experience taking statements, especially when a case was open and shut, but it’d at least prove some respite from the endless bureaucracy he was currently under, “fine I’ll go and take a look,” he huffed before getting up and heading into the hallway. It didn’t take him too long in the sprawling maze that was the Ministry until he got to the interview rooms but he could already overhear exactly who it was who demanded he answer their every need.

 

“I don’t see why you’re here wasting my time with this rubbish. You caught the person so why are you forcing me to tell you what your busybodies saw too.”

 

“Look, as I have already told you Mrs Pot…” an exasperated voice began only to be interrupted by his somewhat better half.

 

“And as I told you it’s **Ms Parkinson** if you’d actually been listening. How you’re supposed to take my statement when you can’t even get my name right I don’t know.”

 

Harry felt that was the best time to make his appearance, opening the door to find his wife examining her hand while Bone’s man, Auror… Samuels if he recalled correctly, had his head in his hands looking to question her again before turning to look as Harry made his presence known, “maybe it’s best if I take over now?”

 

Samuels looked relieved at this idea, “she’s all yours,” he proclaimed, as though Harry needed to be reminded of that, before leaving the room as soon as he could, shutting the door on his way out. It was after a brief pause that Harry decided to move towards the table where he could see the small smile his wife was trying to hide as she still stared at her hand.

 

“You didn’t need to mentally torture the poor kid dear,” he admonished half-heartedly as he took the now empty seat on his side of the table, his wife finally looked up no longer attempting to hide that smirk of hers.

 

“Oh but it’s so fun to annoy them when they can’t do anything about it,” she laughed, as Harry began to fill out the basic details on the form regarding the witness.

 

_Name, Pansy Helena Parkinson_

_Age, Thirty…Seven_

_Date of Birth, uh…_

“It’s November the 17th dear, you really should know that you know.”

 

“My bank balance does.”

 

_Date of Birth, 17 th November 1979_

 

“I have good tastes.”

 

“No, you have _expensive_ tastes.”

 

_Occupation, Reporter_

 

“Same thing. So how’s your day going?”

 

“Boring… how’s yours?”

 

“Well I was planning to go home until I got dragged in here.”

 

“If you’d just answered the questions you’d already be at home.”

 

“I know… it’s just the principle of the thing,” his wife huffed before crossing her arms defensively.

 

“Well that’s your fault then isn’t it. Now can you just tell me what happened?”

 

Pansy looked set to argue again but finally slouched in her chair. Harry had to supress a laugh as he looked at his wife who, despite her family name and smart clothes, currently looked like a petulant child. Eventually she gave in and as quickly as possible described the scene she’d seen, “I was walking down Diagon Alley minding my own business when I saw some drunken idiot throw a stone at a window. Two of your goons then promptly grabbed him and dragged him away when he tried throw a spell at a some slackjaw who decided to start insulting him.”

 

“So you were in Diagon Alley when you saw the accused break a window and then arrested by two Aurors when he threatened a passerby?”

 

“Well if you want to be boring then yes, that’s what happened,” Pansy responded before taking off and placing her outer robes on her chair and then proceeding to make her way to his side of the table. “You look nice,” Harry observed, taking a look at his wife’s attire. A fairly dark blue dress that showed off her figure, came down to her knees, and had a lace see-through mesh covering her upper arms and her décolletage. A clear choice that was formal, fashionable and slightly teasing, and not the strictly professional attire she usually wore while working which meant there was something here Harry was missing. Once again however it appeared his wife was ahead of him.

 

“You’ve forgotten haven’t you,” she said teasingly, clearly enjoying the fact she had this over him as she moved round the table to tower over him (or at least as much towering as a 5 foot something woman can do). Harry guessed it was also probably the reason why she’d wanted to give her statement to him. He knew admitting defeat to her would no doubt see him being reminded of this for the next few weeks or so whenever she wanted her own way. Rather than simply accepting that fate at that precise moment he wanted some clarification first regarding his suspicions as to why she’d asked to see him, “I’m guessing that’s why you decided to show up today then. You do realise that you could’ve just talked to the office to say you wanted to talk to me?”

 

At this Pansy sat herself against the table and looked at her hands in a poor attempt to appear disinterested, “I guess so, I just wanted to be sure you’d get the message and not held up by some wo… person behind a desk.” _There it was_. Harry had to suppress a smile at that. He was only too well aware that his wife had a small jealous streak in her and that one of her main problem points was his, well the department’s really, secretary. Ever since she’d joined a year ago Miss Samantha Palmer had become a frequent subject of gossip amongst many of the male Auror’s partners. Not that long out of Hogwarts, objectively attractive with long blonde hair and brown doe eyes, and friendly with the whole department, the stuff many a workplace rumour starts from. Harry of course had failed to mention to his other half that Samantha had been dating the same person, a junior member in the DMLE, all that time but he knew the moment in which he could break that to his wife without ending up on the sofa for a week or two was about ten months ago.

 

Besides, the effort his wife went to in getting to him at work without talking to Samantha were endearing in a way. He was lucky to have her even if he did sometimes wanted to pull his hair out dealing with her, like now with her arms crossed proudly and grinning like the proverbial cat who caught the canary. Harry decided to bite the bullet and got up as well, standing in front of and just taller than his ball and chain who somehow was more annoying when grinning up at him with that smirk of hers, “what have I forgotten then?”

 

“It’s our seven year old daughter’s parent’s evening,” she announced smugly as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, “you know, that thing where we have to say how wonderful Violet is and how much we love her.”

 

“But we do love her.”

 

“I know that dear, but I mean as in acting like everything she does is magical. I mean she’s wonderful but it’s hard to pretend those blobs she draws are of the cats,” she huffed out while heading back round to grab her cloak.

 

“Well I mean they could be of those two,” Harry answered back unconvincingly. As much as he loved his daughter she really wasn’t much of an artist whether she was wearing her reading glasses or not.

 

“Harry the cats are brown, not purple. Honestly that teacher of hers must think we’re deranged or something,” she finished while adjusting her robes until she clearly found them suitable for outside view and pushing her hair out from under the collar, “anyway this meeting starts at seven… fifteen I think it was so you better head home soon and get ready.”

 

Harry once again found himself confused, “why would I need to do that,” he asked as Pansy came back round to stand in front of him again.

 

“Well you can’t go wearing these things,” she announced lightly grabbing at his current attire. Harry looked down and didn’t seem to see anything wrong. Yes, there was a slight ink smudge on his shirt but he didn’t see anything wrong with that or his tie and trousers, “last thing I need is to look… well amazing as always while you look like you’ve just been dragged out of bed.”

 

“I’m sure they’ll think me a terrible husband and father surely,” he smiled at her to see her reciprocate.

 

“Oh the worst,” she mocked back.

 

“But what do you think then dearest,” he asked as he gently placed his hands at her waist.

 

Pansy wound her arms round his neck and while slightly smiling at him before coyly replying, “well while you have no sense of fashion, constantly play the hero, sullied the good Parkinson name, can be a right misery, and can’t dance to save your life you do cook rather well, are a very good house-elf, at least half a good a parent as I am, and are definitely more than adequate in _other_ areas.”

 

“Glad you think so highly of me **Ms Parkinson** ,” Harry beamed before stealing a kiss and lowering one hand cheekily only to be quickly pushed away with a hand to his chest and an unladylike snort from his wife.

 

“I wonder how your colleagues would respond to see you using their interrogation room like this, although I might let you show me those _other skills_ of yours later if you behave,” she replied before turning around to grab her bag from the table, definitely not bending over more than necessary in an attempt to tease him, and then facing him again and admonishing him like she would attempt to do with their kids, “now go home and get changed before tonight. And don’t wear that Gryffindor tie of yours, it’s bad enough being reminded of the fact I married one with how you’ve decorated the house let alone when I’m out in public with you,” she finished before placing her hand on his cheek and planting a quick kiss on him before heading for the door.

 

Harry moved back to the table and grabbed the completed statement from where it lay forgotten and decided to tease his wife one last time, “oh dear, would you mind handing this to Samantha for me on the way out?”

 

Pansy didn’t stop, simply turning to him briefly as she headed out the door, “watch yourself **Mr Potter** , or I might just become a single mother by tonight.”

 

Harry just laughed at the empty (he hoped) threat, “love you too dear,” he shouted as the door closed, hearing his wife briefly forcefully snort again along with a small laugh before the soundproof door shut fully. Making sure nothing had been left behind Harry left as well and made his way back through the maze of corridors until he bumped back into Susan, “your wife seemed pleased with herself,” the redhead spoke, clearly wanting to hear the reason why.

 

“Yes, she’s pleased with the fact she had to remind me of something for once,” he responded with chagrin thereby causing yet another person to laugh at his misfortune today. Harry moved past that and handed her the statement, “there’s her statement, or at least the version that can be used as evidence. Not that you need it.”

 

“Thanks again Harry,” Susan added relieved, clearly her work for the day must be largely done, “so you headed back to your mountain of paperwork then.”

 

Harry checked his watch, _16:30_ , “nope, need to head home and get ready for tonight,” he corrected, piquing Susan’s interest.

 

“Oh, night out with the missus?”

 

“Yes, going to enjoy the delights of schoolwork being praised and then no doubt treating the little one to a congratulatory meal for badly drawing animals.”

 

Susan again just laughed at the clear misfortune showing on his face, “well try and have fun. Before you know it Harry she’ll be at Hogwarts and someone else’s problem for most of the year,” she finished as she headed off to no doubt file the meaningless paperwork he’d handed her.

 

“Can’t wait,” Harry threw back as he headed off towards the foyer of the Ministry, intent on heading home to get changed as his captor commanded, though he would be wearing that tie of his. Had to make sure Violet didn’t end up in Slytherin after all. He was sure his wife wouldn’t really hold it against him.

 

And besides, an annoyed Pansy could be a rather passionate one. That was something he certainly finds rewarding.


End file.
